The RCVS has accredited four more universities to assess modules for its Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP). This means that there are now 78 modules for candidates to choose from, with many modules available through more than one university, giving veterinary surgeons a real choice as to how they work towards postgraduate qualifications.

The RCVS CertAVP Subcommittee has approved applications from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and the West of England (in partnership with Hartpury College). 

A very broad range of modules is now available, covering most species and many disciplines. They include some firsts for the CertAVP - equine modules will be available through both Edinburgh and Liverpool universities, and Edinburgh will also be assessing modules in equine dentistry, laboratory animal science and cattle and sheep medicine, amongst others.  Glasgow's range includes modules in veterinary public health, as well as emergency critical care, while the University of the West of England's offering includes the key skills modules, and ‘B' modules in small animal, equine and production animal practice.

These universities now join the Royal Veterinary College and the Universities of Cambridge and Middlesex in being accredited to assess modules. While all of the accredited universities provide courses to support candidates working towards modules, including distance-learning options and online support, they must also offer an assessment-only route for those who prefer self-study, or who want to attend courses elsewhere. 

The modular CertAVP was launched during 2007 and gives candidates the benefit of a mix and match style of learning. This aims to meet the needs of those who are committed to planned continuing professional development (CPD) but who need to balance this with busy practice life.

The new Certificate also better meets the needs of those whose practice interests change over the enrolment period, or who want to combine study across different species and disciplines to suit their practice caseload.  Previously there was little flexibility built into the examination system.

"We are delighted that the list of modules available has nearly tripled this month," says Freda Andrews, RCVS Head of Education. "Interest in the new certificate is growing, and there are already around 200 people enrolled with RCVS for various modules.  So it's great news that these universities are now backing the Certificate and enabling much greater choice for veterinary surgeons studying for the qualification."

Full details of the new modules are available on RCVSonline at www.rcvs.org.uk/modcerts

The RCVS is encouraging vets to nominate members of their nursing team for this year's VN Golden Jubilee Award, which recognises exceptional contribution to veterinary nursing.

The award was launched in 2011 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the first RCVS veterinary nursing training course and recognises those who have made an outstanding contribution to the profession, animal welfare and/or patient care. Nominees can be registered veterinary nurses, veterinary surgeons or lay people.

Nomination forms need to be submitted by 5pm on Friday 24 April. The principal nominator must be a registered veterinary nurse or veterinary surgeon, although the two supporting proposers can be lay people.

Kathy Kissick, Chair of VN Council, said: "One of the main priorities of VN Council in the coming years is to raise levels of awareness of registered veterinary nurses, and awards which recognise the importance of VNs in the context of the veterinary team and animal welfare are crucial to enhancing the profession's profile.

"Therefore I would encourage veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons to think about those VNs who go above and beyond the call of duty for their cause and who would be excellent ambassadors for the profession and nominate them for the Golden Jubilee Award."

Last year's winner was Hayley Walters who was recognised for her contribution to animal welfare through her teaching, clinical and international outreach work. Previous recipients were Jean Turner in 2011 and Sue Badger in 2012. No award was made in 2013.

The nomination form for the VN Golden Jubilee Award can be downloaded from www.rcvs.org.uk/goldenjubilee

The winner will be chosen by a panel of VN Council members and will receive the Award at RCVS Day - the College's Annual General Meeting and Awards Day - on Friday 10 July 2015.

For further information about making a nomination for the award contact Annette Amato, Deputy Head of Veterinary Nursing, on a.amato@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0713.

Dechra is hosting a one-hour canine otitis externa webinar at 7:00pm on Wednesday 31st July to share practical tips on otitis externa, how to choose the right treatments and the latest guidelines for using antibiotics responsibly.

The ‘Ear essentials – a holistic approach to the treatment of canine otitis externa’ webinar will include a presentation by Jonathon Elgie, veterinary technical advisor at Dechra UK and Ireland.

Jonathon will talk delegates through case examples to help them make decisions that can be used in practice and take a clear, practical and holistic approach to treatment. 

He will also update vet professionals on Dechra support including the Lifelong Ear Partnership which provides education, tips and assistance to achieve better clinical outcomes and owner satisfaction.

From the beginning of October this year, the electronic recording of pig movements will be written into legislation.

Following a recent consultation, Defra intends to amend the existing Pigs, Records, Identification and Movements Order (PRIMO) 2007 to reflect the requirement of pre-notification of movements.

Dorothea Schiemann of BPEX said: "There will be a transitional period of six months for the phasing out of the paper-based AML2 forms, planned to start from 1 October 2011. This will give producers and businesses the opportunity to adjust to the change in process.

"From April 2012 the AML2 paper forms will cease to be a valid method of reporting movements. Pig movements will either have to be reported using the free eAML2 online service or the free eAML2 bureau service and there will also be third party agents such as marketing groups or the British Pig Association."

Following extensive trialling, the eAML2 system for farm to slaughter movements was launched in April 2011 across England and Wales. The functions for movements from farm to farm, market, collection centre and show, and for import and export, will be introduced in due course.

Benefits include the fact that the industry will have a realistic herd register providing accurate and timely information. This will enable better communication and control in the event of disease outbreak. There will be no need to fill in the same information again and again as the eAML2 service will pre-populate the basic information automatically. Also, when pigs are sent to slaughter, the system combines the movement licence and Food Chain Information (FCI) form in one, which will save producers time.

For more information and to register to use the system go to: http://www.eaml2.org.uk/

Nestlé Purina is launching a new diet this month which, according to the company, helps delay the canine brain ageing process.

The diet, Pro Plan Senior 7+ Original, is enriched with medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). Research carried out by Nestlé Purina and published online in the British Journal of Nutrition (here's the abstract), apparently demonstrates improvements in senior dogs' memory, learning capacity and ability to adapt to novel situations when fed on this MCT-enriched formula.¹ According to the company, the MCTs provide neurons with a readily accessible source of energy to counteract the decline in glucose metabolism that occurs naturally in ageing dogs, thus maximising brain function with demonstrable improvements in cognitive function.

Veterinary surgeon, Barton Stephen, BVM&S MRCVS, veterinary columnist for The People said: "When treating brain ageing or CCD in senior dogs I believe we vets need to adopt a more holistic approach. We can treat diseases like heart failure and kidney disease and offer advice on exercise, joint care and weight control. All of these can improve quality of life and encourage a pain free existence, but until now we have had nothing proven to help dogs stay younger for longer. This innovative new dog food has the added advantage of staving off cognitive decline which owners find very distressing."

For more information on Pro Plan Senior 7+ Original and the Pro Plan, diet range, please contact your Veterinary Business Development Manager or contact Nestlé Purina PetCare, telephone: 0800 212 161 (Freephone)

Reference:
^¹ Dietary supplementation with medium-chain TAG has long-lasting cognition-enhancing effects in aged dogs. British Journal of Nutrition (Pan et al 2010)

Virbac has announced the launch of a new support pack to help practices promote National Microchipping Month this June. 

The pack contains a range of promotional and educational items including:

• A poster which can be individually customised to include practice-branding and a promotional offering
• A large BackHome display poster for the wall, the window or wherever it can best promote the practice
• Colour-coordinated bunting and balloons to frame waiting room displays and windows
• Eye-catching 'wobblers' for reception desks and shelves to remind clients to chat to reception and book their microchipping appointment.

Sarah Walker MRCVS, BackHome Product Manager, said: "With microchipping soon to become compulsory for dogs across the UK, this year's National Microchipping Month is the ideal platform to raise awareness of its importance in all species and to remind clients that they will soon be required by law to ensure that their dogs at least are protected with a microchip. The new BackHome Mini Chip has a 34% smaller needle than our standard needles and this can minimise any stress and discomfort to pets during implantation.

"The resources in our Microchipping Support Pack are bold, colourful and eye-catching.  We hope that, with the creative teams that exist within each practice, you can promote National Microchipping Month successfully using imaginative displays and use this opportunity to engage with your clients."

For more information, contact your Virbac Territory Manager.

The Worldwide Veterinary Service, the charity founded by Luke Gamble MRCVS to support animal welfare charities globally, is celebrating a donation of products including dog and cat wormers, skin and joint supplements and NSAIDs, by Ceva Animal Health.

The donated products were dispatched to the WVS’s own centres and shelters in Thailand, including its 'Care for Dogs' shelter in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as well as to over 60 animal welfare charities around the world, all of which have registered a wish list of items to the WVS.

One of the charities that benefited from the company's donation of over 1,000 Milbactor worming tablets to the WVS was the Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society (LAWCS). Dogs are often kept in horrendous conditions in Liberia and LAWCS provides responsible dog ownership education, free veterinary care and treatment and community outreach feeding programmes to pet owners. The WVS’s donation helped enable LAWCS to reach and provide free veterinary care and treatment to 420 dogs in the country.

Luke Gamble, chief executive and founder of WVS, said: "The donation from Ceva is fantastic and we can’t thank the company enough. Its support means so much to the charity and enables us to help animals in tough places where veterinary support is hard to find. Ceva has always supported WVS and its generosity in giving us another donation like this is simply amazing."

Cuneyt Seckin, managing director at Ceva Animal Health said: "Our donation to WVS helps charities and organisations whose veterinary resources can be scarce or extremely difficult to fund improve the welfare conditions of animals that are often kept in horrendous conditions. 

"Treatments like wormers are the most requested items by WVS’s associated charities, so we are delighted that our donation has been able to impact the welfare of individual animals to greatly improve their quality of life."

As part of its Black History Month activities, the RCVS has put together a series of video interviews with black and mixed heritage newly-qualified and student vets and nurses, talking about what inspired them to join the veterinary profession and how they got to where they are today.

The interviews give an insight into the career advice the interviewees got from their school, what steps they took to secure their place to study for their qualification, what hurdles they had to overcome and what can be done to address issues around the under-representation of some groups within the profession.

The College says the aim is to help inspire school age children to consider a veterinary career through frank conversations with role models who have chosen a vet or vet nursing career.

The first film is an interview with Rheanna Ellis, a 2021 Nottingham Vet School graduate who is now working as a veterinary surgeon at a West Midlands practice. In her interview she talks about her passion to become a vet from a young age, how she went about researching and preparing for her job, and the importance of perseverance.

To help promote the videos and the College’s ongoing work on diversity and inclusion, the RCVS has partnered with the official Black History Month campaign and website which will also be hosting the videos. 

Many of the interviews have been carried out by Mandisa Greene, RCVS Senior Vice-President, who helped lead the RCVS Black History Month activities last year as the College’s first ever black President.

Mandisa said: “It’s important that we demonstrate commitment to diversity and inclusion and have a role in acknowledging and accentuating diverse voices within the professions. Throughout these video interviews I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some inspiring newly qualified and student veterinary professionals who are all clearly very passionate about supporting animal health and welfare.

“I hope that school children from all backgrounds who watch these videos will get the chance to see how rewarding and enjoyable a veterinary career can be and that they’ll be inspired to consider becoming a vet or vet nurse in the future.”

The RCVS will be publishing more video interviews on its YouTube channel through October and beyond.

The Dogs Trust has released the results of its 2010 Stray Dog Survey, which shows that 51% of stray dogs picked up by local authorities in the UK were reunited with their owners.

According to the charity, this compares with 42% last year and is only the second time the figure has gone through the 50% barrier since survey records began in 1997.

Where the method used to return stray dogs was identified, the proportion of dogs returned through microchipping was 35% - up from 31% last year.

Dogs Trust is repeating the call for the introduction of a compulsory microchipping system for all dogs in the UK. It believes this will help reunite even more owners with their lost pets, trace abandoned pets back to irresponsible owners and ultimately reduce the number of healthy dogs unnecessarily put to sleep in the UK.

The annual Stray Dog Survey, conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of Dogs Trust, shows an overall increase in instances of straying from 107,228 to 121,693. However, taking into account the number of dogs reclaimed or returned to owner (45,329 in 2009 and 61,908 in 2010) we can estimate that this year the number of dogs actually abandoned (approximately 59,785) as opposed to being wanted pets that simply strayed has fallen by 3%.

There has been a considerable decline in the number of dogs being put to sleep by Local Authorities due to ill health, aggression (under the Dangerous Dogs Act) or simply for want of a home. Down from 9,310 in last year's survey to 6,404 this year. Dogs Trust is delighted at the progress Local Authorities have made in bringing down these numbers and their efforts in rehoming and returning so many dogs to their owners.

Dogs Trust Chief Executive Clarissa Baldwin said: "Dogs Trust is encouraged to see that although the instances of straying in the UK has increased in the last two years, the percentage of these dogs being reunited with their owners has increased and, more importantly, the numbers being put to sleep has fallen drastically.

"We are delighted to see that microchipping is having a serious impact on the stray dog situation in the UK. Dogs Trust runs subsidised microchipping campaigns across the country and in particular those areas with the biggest stray dog problems. A compulsory microchipping system would undoubtedly improve the situation further."

Dogs Trust says the introduction of compulsory microchipping would:

• Enable lost or straying dogs to be reunited promptly with their owners - meaning fewer dogs will be put to sleep at council pounds
• Permanently identify a dog in such a way that is virtually impossible to alter or remove - a clear advantage for dogs that are stolen
• Enable clear identification of the dog's owner when prosecution is being considered for dog thieves and antisocial behaviour
• Significantly decrease the workload of all those dealing with stray dogs
• Reduce kennelling costs for Local Authorities and save time
• Allow puppies bred illegally or inappropriately on puppy farms to be traced to their source

Virbac Animal Health has developed a 'Yield Wheel' to show vets the additional income that farmers can achieve through taking a tailored and more flexible approach to the management of their dairy herd through the dry period. 

The company says this approach is made easier using its Cephaguard DC dry cow therapy.

While a 60 day drying off period is required for some cows, others may not need to be withdrawn from milk production for the full period, including those with a high body condition score in late lactation, high yielders and older healthy cows with an increased tendency for weight gain. For cows in these categories, a shorter drying off period can mean additional days of milk production and extra income for the farmer with no negative impact on future lactations or the cow's overall health.

The Yield Wheel shows how production and income can be maximised on a sliding scale from a standard 60 day drying off period down to 36 days, the shortest drying off period.  It also shows the benefits which can be gained in terms of reduced discarded milk days in the case of cows with an unclear calving date.

Cephaguard DC dry cow therapy is the most recent entrant to the dry cow therapy market. With its 35+1 day withdrawal period in milk, Virbac says it offers farmers increased flexibility for the management of dry periods.

Brigitte Goasduf, Ruminants Product Manager at Virbac said: "For dairy farmers, it's all about milk. They're looking to optimise production and reduce waste while also ensuring that they treat infections effectively at drying off and prevent new infections which may reduce yield during the next lactation.

We've produced the Yield Wheel to highlight the tangible benefits of taking a customised and more flexible approach to drying off using Cephaguard DC. The data is provided in a practical and straightforward way and demonstrates the potential yield benefits that can be achieved from an overall herd management and income perspective. We hope it will prove a useful tool."

VetSurgeon.org member Aubrey Kumm MRCVS, a Joint Partner at Companion Care in Harlow, has become one of the first vets based in the UK to gain the GPCert(Endo) from the ESVPS. He joins a group of just 11 vets who currently hold this certificate in Europe.

Aubrey said: "Although there are over 50 veterinary surgeries offering specialist endoscopic surgery in the UK I wanted to ensure I was as well versed as possible in the latest developments of this method of surgery and the ESVPS certificate offered a comprehensive course, the benefits of which I am now able to pass on to clients."

Aubrey's qualification involved a year of study and several examinable components including case studies and a written exam.

The practice has invested around £60,000 in a Force Triad and two laprascopic cameras, along with various operating scopes, a broncoscope,and other associated equipment.

Aubrey added: "As a practice we are now able to offer less invasive surgery to our clients and their pets and we no longer have to ask clients to travel to distant referral centres."

Emily Holbrook MRCVS, Garth Tozer MRCVS, Dr Richard Dixon and Ken Davison MRCVS have all won a Best Practice Employer Award from Novartis Animal Health after glowing nominations from the staff at their practices.

In addition, Katherine Corbett VN from Nine Lives Veterinary Centre won a special new award, worth £500, for the veterinary nurse that in the judges' opinion had best used the opportunities given to her by her boss, Emily Holbrook.

Katherine's first question when told of her win really demonstrates the commitment that veterinary nurses will give a good boss: "Can I spend it on buying one of Kruuse's Buster ICU cages for the practice? Emily has given me so much; I'd love to give something back." 

Rachel Smithson, Marketing Manager at Novartis said: "All of our winners were asked what steps they take to ensure a happy team. Their answers were almost unanimous. Empower your staff. Give them responsibility, and if that means accepting the occasional mistake, then do so. Praise them for a job well done. Thank them regularly. Not only will it make your practice a better working environment, but as Katherine demonstrates, your staff will probably go to extraordinary lengths to support you. That translates into a more profitable practice, and higher standards of veterinary care."

The story is covered in full in the August and September editions of Veterinary Practice magazine, downloadable from www.vetsurgeon.org

Sarah Palmer (left) of Novartis Animal Health makes the presentation to head nurse Katherine Corbett and veterinary surgeon Emily Holbrook of Nine Lives Veterinary Practice; behind them are Anne Corbett (receptionist), Lindsay Harrison (nursing assistant), and Laura Steele (veterinary surgeon). 

Kenneth Agnew from Novartis Animal Health prepares to present Kenneth Davison with his Best Practice Employer Award, whilst the team toast their boss.

Veterinary Nursing Assistant Abby Brown (left) and Abby Roberts from Novartis Animal Health toast Garth Tozer, Novartis Best Practice Employer Award winner.

Donna Lewis (BVNA), and Novartis Animal Health CEO George Gunn present Dr Richard Dixon with his award.